Improvement in hand corn-planters



.1. CpLEFFEL.

Hand Corn-Planters.` r

Patente-d lime 30,1874? UNITED STATES PATENT Orte,b

JOHN O. LEFFEL, OF SHELBINA, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF HIS RIGHT TOSETH V. LEFFEL.

IMPROVEMENT IN HAND CORN-PLANTERS.

Specification lforming part of Letters Patent No. 152,563, dated June30, 1874; application led March 30, 1874.

To all whomaft may concern:

Be it known that I, JNO. O. LEFFEL, of Shelbina, in the county ot'Shelby and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Hand Oornllanters; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a i'ull, clear,'and exact description ofthe invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the' art to which it appezrtains to makeand use it, reference being had to the accompan yin g drawings, whichform part of this specification.

The nature ot' my invention consists in the construction and arrangementof a hand cornplanter, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

In order to enable others skilled iu the art to which my inventionappertains to make and use the same, l will now proceed to describe itsconstruction and operation, referring to the annexed drawing, whichrepresents my invention.

Figure l' is a vert-ical section of my invention. Figs. 2 and 3 aredetail views ot' the same.

A represents the box in which the corn to be planted is placed, said boxbeing attached to a board, B. From the bottom ot' the box A leads aconveyor, O, to a foot or cutter, D, the boxboard B ext-ending down intosaid foot. Through the conveyor O and lower part ofthe board B are threechannels, a a, through which the corn is dropped. The lower ends ot'these channels are such distances apartsay, three inches, more or lessthe corn the proper distance apart, and thereby save the labor ot'thinning out. The rear plate D ot the toot or cutter D is hingedthereto, and provided with an arm, E, which extends up along thebox-board B, and has at its upper end a suitable handle, by means ofwhich it is operated. In the bottom of the box A is a horizontalslide,G, the rear end ot' which has a short tongue, b,projecting through aslot iu the arm E. Through the end ofthe tongue b passes a pin, d, uponwhich are placed two friction-rollers, e e, working in grooves ontheback of the arm E. As this arm is moved out and in upon its hinge,earrying with it the slide G, the rollers ee move up and down in theirgrooves, maintaining the slide always in a horizontal position.Herctofore, in this class of corn-planters, there has always been ajoint of some kind in, or conn neeted to, the slide, so as to allow forthe curve in opening` and closing the planter; but by my construction ofthis part of the planter such joint is obviated, and I am enabled to usea perfectly solid and stitt' slide, and still cause it to move perfectlylevel in the box. The slide G has three holes or cells, t' t',corresponding with the upper )ends of the chan. nels a a. Above theslide in the box-board B is made a passage for a three'pronged punch, f,which, when the slide is drawn out,

drops down and forces the corn out ot' the cells t' t', and prevents itfrom sticking therein. The outer ends or sides of these cells arebeveled, so that when the slide is moved inward again the punch f willrise out of the cells again and be ready to drop at the next outwardmovement of the slide. Inside of the box A is a cut-off formed of apiece of leather, h, with a iat spring, m, pressing on the upper partthereof'. Across the box, a short distance above the slide, is a wire,n, to flatten the seed so that the cells can receive it. p is a halfeut-off arranged on the back ot' the box to assist in filling the cells.

I am aware that different devices have been used, in walking-planters,to force the grains through a revolving seed-plate, and this I disclaim.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by l. In a hand corn-planter, the pronged punch f,inserted through the board B, in combination with the slide G, the partsbeing combined to operate as set forth.

2. A hand corn-planter composed of the boards B D, box A, slide G,having the rollers e upon its end, punch f, and eut-offs p m, the partsbeing combined for operation substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination of the cut-off` /L with spring m, the wire a, and thehalt' cut-ofi' 79, all arranged within the box A, substantially as andfor the purposes herein set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereunto set my handthis 23d day ot'` March, 1874.

IVitnesses:

J. W. SHAFER, J. S. CHANDLER.

JOHN O. LEFFEIJ.

